Broken games: China is sport-washing its abuse with the Olympics December 20, 2021 Who doesn’t love the Olympics and Paralympics – the races, the stars, the sweat and tears, the achievements and disappointments. It’s human drama at its best. When Usain Bolt races, it feels like time stands still. When Hannah Cockroft – the wheelchair racing star known as “Hurricane Hannah” – zips around the track, it makes [...]
California dreamin’ of post-Brexit trade deal, with a local twist December 20, 2021 The political agenda over the last week or two has been rather full, so you could be forgiven for not having noticed that the minister for trade policy, Penny Mordaunt, has been on an epic tour of the United States, one of the longest ministerial visits in recent history. The Portsmouth North MP, who was [...]
Commons Snapshot: a story of Tory division in two tweets December 17, 2021 Divisions within the Conservative Party are a gaping hole at the moment. Yesterday, Tory MP and Parliamentary private secretary to Michael Gove Joy Morrissey, shared a tweet just a tad too aggressive. “This is not a public health socialist state” she wrote, trying to silence Chris Whitty, who had been urging people to limit social [...]
Staying safe during the Christmas period December 17, 2021 | Sponsored Despite the fact that this year will feel more normal than last, it’s important that we remember that Covid-19 hasn’t gone away; the emergence of a new variant of the virus, Omicron, has reminded us all of the risks. But with every passing day we know more about the virus – and the best way [...]
Elizabeth Holmes and the perils of the Silicon Valley culture of hubris December 17, 2021 First hubris, then nemesis. There are few stories more compelling. Icarus flies too close to the sun and falls to earth. Richard III, “determined to prove a villain” in Shakespeare’s telling, overthrows his brother, kills his nephews and dies on Bosworth Field. When Milton’s Satan rebels against God, even in failure he is unrepentant. No [...]
It’s time to put away the toy trains and thrash out a deal for Transport for London December 17, 2021 The pandemic has brought the country to a standstill more times than once this year. But the UK’s railways have continued to move people and goods across the country during these critical moments. The impact of Covid-19 has been felt acutely in London, where passenger numbers fall every time more restrictions are brought in. The [...]
Inflation has been Odyssey of 2021 for a behind the curve Bank of England December 17, 2021 Odysseus famously stuffed his ears with beeswax to avoid being lured by the sirens. Thousands of households across Britain were likely doing something similar to stop themselves from wincing at the final inflation reading of the year. Prices are now 5.1 per cent higher than they were a year ago. For anyone with an appetite, [...]
Citypages: Books to look back and books to look forward December 17, 2021 Central Banking 101 by Joseph Wang If you did not know what yesterday’s rate rise from the Bank of England meant, this book is for you. Over the last year, words like quantitative easing have been thrown around with surprising regularity, as happened to other concepts normally relegated to the financial pages. Central Banking 101 [...]
Christmas Special: Books of 2021 from Mayhem to Madness December 17, 2021 Back into the mayhem: Chief of Staff by Gavin Barwell Gavin Barwell was a middle-ranking minister when he lost his Croydon Central seat at the cack-handed 2017 general election. He was 45, bright, personable and loyal, and he had sensed that defeat might come, promising in his concession speech to spend more time with his [...]
Letters: Festive cheer in short supply December 16, 2021 [Re:New virus rules pass, yesterday] For many small businesses, the run up to Christmas was to be the saving grace of 2021. Even before Omicron arrived, that just didn’t turn out to be the case, with supply chain issues, fuel and energy costs, finance costs and delays across sectors leading to a big mountain to [...]